This episode explores the economics of the film industry. What affects the return on investment in films? Should governments subsidise film productions as they do in Australia?
Economics Explained host Gene Tunny discusses the economics of the film industry with his good friend Tim Hughes, who spent ten years working in the film industry in the UK and Australia. Tim worked as a crew member on TV shows such as Peak Practice, The Bill, and Coronation Street, and on film productions including Tomb Raider, Scooby-Doo, and Swimming Upstream.
Currently, Tim’s a Brisbane-based businessman who’s had a range of ventures over the years. His latest business is Urban Ergo, a distributor of Humanscale ergonomic products which improve health and comfort at work. Despite his change of career, which he talks about in the interview, Tim has never lost his passion for the film industry.
As noted in the conversation, host Gene Tunny is a long-time critic of government subsidies for the film industry. For instance, see his Policy magazine article:
Special rates for special mates: The case against film industry subsidies
Regarding the issue of local Australian content on streaming services such as Netflix, an issue Tim and Gene discuss in the episode, the latest news is:
Change is coming: Netflix, Amazon, Apple get the jump on regulation